Blending Tennessee Rye with Peated Single Malt Scotch to create a World Whiskey.
It sits outside the rules of both camps and would annoy the ‘traditionalists’ – which is another reason for me to love it before even tasting the liquid!
But as it contains rye whiskey & peated whisky – both styles I enjoy – it would appear to be a ‘no-brainer’ for me to purchase.
So I did.
Packaged in an attractive medicine bottle the whiskey exudes a cheeky fun quality.
Pours a rich golden brown.
Smoking nose!
Very inticing.
Fairly mild start to the palate – do find a sherry finish mutes some of the stronger smoky elements with a sweet veneer – before that smoke – finding it more ‘smoked’ than ‘peated’ – shines through.
There is a tingling dryness on the finish – but can’t work out if that’s the peat or rye?
I often experience a similar finish with many a peated whiskey so wonder what the rye element is actually bringing to this fine blend.
Burnt Ends does float my boat however.
A fun & extremely satisfying whiskey to sip & savour!
Independent bottlers That Boutique-Y Whisky have done a few of them over the years & this World Whisky Blend made up of distillate from around the world is a celebration of the art of blending.
A soft nose greeted me with the merest hint of smoke.
Nice & easy delivery, lovely sweet grain, touch of depth.
Growing complexity on the rear leaving with a tingly drying sensation.
A very engaging blend to sip & savour!
The Whistler, The Good The Bad & The Smoky, Blended Malt, 48%
Image courtesy Boann Distillery
The Whistler series are part of Boann Distillery’s growing range of sourced spirits with witty names showcasing their blending & bottling prowess.
How could I resist The Good The Bad & The Smoky?
Soft & smooth palate slowly builds in intensity.
Opens up into a glowing hearth fire on the rear finally exhibiting The Smoky – which up until now had been subdued.
Neither the nose nor the palate kind of let you know what this one develops into!
Very intriguing!
Thoughts
If it was on the name only – The Good The Bad & The Smoky would win hands down.
But on the taste & overall experience?
Well The Whistler was certainly a bit of a rollercoaster of a ride alright – if slightly unexpected at the end.
That Boutique-Y came across more of a balanced easy drinker if anything – with a bit more complexity too – so for that reason the World Whisky Blend gets my vote!
By the way That Boutique-Y inform me this blend is made up of distillate from; Scotland, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, USA, Switzerland, Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Germany, France, Japan & Finland.
Stripped of any clues as to what’s before you it heightens your senses to the tastes & flavours experienced on drinking the liquid.
Presented before me were 6 samples. I duly poured them into 6 identical Túath glasses & proceeded to savour the contents.
For some reason I thought this was a rum tasting – & quickly revised this theory as No 1‘despite having a bit of a sour nose the lack of body on the palate & high ABV kick signalled to me a poitín! Can’t say it did much for me. Nice experience – but not an approachable spirit’.
There was no No 2 so No 3‘proved intriguing. The pale yellow colour, soft fruity nose, easy palate with slight hints of burnt notes on the rear drew me in. I could drink this one again!’.
With No 4 ‘I experienced a slightly musty nose, indicative of long ageing, perfectly fine palate yet lacked a bit of body & very dry on the rear. Rather nonplussed by this one’.
No 5‘had a sherry like influence, smooth & silky on the palate with a nice touch of dryness on the rear. Could be a low ppm peater? Not quite enough to excite me if it is’.
No 6‘initially blew me away! Suggestive of high ABV. On a 2nd tasting it still didn’t entice me’.
No 7 ‘kinda hooked me, if only for a more pronounced smoky influence. Elegant yet challenging all at the same time’.
So that was it! My initial thoughts are in italics.
Given that Smögen is a bit of a unicorn bottle – hard to get hold of, pricey & limited edition – as are some of the other bottles – I think Dunville’s 1808 performed extremely well on my palate.
I took away a few themes from this tasting. High ABV can blow away the flavours for me & make for a challenging drinking experience. Sherry cask influence isn’t my style of choice & when it comes to enjoyable, affordable drinking – you can’t beat a good blend!
What would your palate have chosen?
Sláinte
Many thanks to fellow Whiskey Blogger S for the blind samples & bottle photo.
It’s not everyday you come away from a whiskey tasting championing a vodka,
But then it’s not everyday you encounter such an innovative drinks producer like Lough Ree Distillery.
Mike Clancy from Lough Ree entertained us with a highly informative talk & introduction to 5 of the companies offerings.
We kicked off with Bart’s – the company’s core Irish Whiskey blend – which I’ve always found very attractive. Read my blog here.
The Dead Centre collaborative Single Malt Whiskey duo were equally well received – with No1 just winning it for me in this 2nd tasting. Read my original thoughts here.
The limited release Bethlehem Bridge Series Single Grain Whiskey proved to be a favourite all round with it’s rich, deep & dark flavours captivating the audience.
Pale straw with decent legs. Gorgeous coastal iodine like smoke. An almost oily mouthfeel. The fabulous peat stacks up like a cosy warming fire on the finish.
Pale straw, decent legs. Soft gentle kiss of turf. Light palate yet smoke comes through. A more balanced well stacked glowing fire gradually fades away.
Nice
Thoughts
A tough choice!
2 gorgeous peaters – the full on Mulligan or gently cultured Clonmel?
Can depend on the mood at the time – but I’m giving it to the fabulous peaty exuberance of Mulligan 8yo.
Continuing my exploration of the whisky world are these 4 single malts from grain to glass French Whisky distillery Rozelieures.
I sampled them before looking up anything on the web – it helps to eliminate any undue bias – & found them mainly on the light & easy side of the flavour spectrum.
Origine Single Malt 40%
Distilled from grain grown on the Rozelieures farm places this whisky in a select club of producers claiming terroir credentials.
Origine didn’t particularly shine for me however.
The flavours were soft, muted & mild – a touch of honeyed malt, hints of rustique agriculture, an easy going palate with an appreciative bite on the finish displaying woody spices & sweet vanilla.
Grand.
Rare Single Malt 40%
A fresher & cleaner style of malt.
Easy & smooth – almost to the point of being laidback – trés tranquille – perhaps deliberately so.
I’ve been told by distillers exporting into France the market shys away from bold flavours – so Rare is probably playing up to that.
Tourbé Single Malt 46%
Tourbé means peaty – yet I had a hard job picking this up from the very light straw coloured whisky.
There was a gorgeously dry & tingly spiciness on the finish however with subtle hints of smoke.
A 2nd tasting drew out more & Tourbé proved to be an enticing soft smoker.
Fumé Single Malt 46%
A more ‘traditional’ style of smokiness was evident with Fumé.
Old leather & cigar smoke on the nose.
The mild & easy palate gave way to a delightful crescendo of smokiness which dried out leaving a tingling spice finish.
Nice!
Thoughts
French whisky is growing fast.
A Federation has been formed to further the category of which Rozelieures – with their engaging & entertaining single malts – is part of.
Being a fan of bigger, badder & bolder flavours Fumé was the one for me – but I did find the subtlety of Tourbé enticing.
Perhaps with the opening up of travel restrictions after COVID a distillery tour trip of French Distilleries is in order!
The show was my last event back in 2020 before lockdown ensued – & marks my first in a post-pandemic situation.
An eager & good natured queue formed outside Cupar’s Corn Exchange building in anticipation of the spirits within & it wasn’t too long before I arrived at my first stall.
Nc’neanare part of the new wave of Scottish Distilleries springing up around the country.
Their debut Organic Single Malt proved a lovely ex-bourbon & wine cask style of whisky with elegantly clear flavours.
I liked the clean, bold no nonsense Ardnumurchan bottle – along with the whisky too! A lovely combination of ex-bourbon, sherry & smidgen of peat.
Badachro‘s whisky isn’t matured – but they offer a gently peated Highland Single Malt from an unnamed source as a taster of things to come from this boutique distillery.
Established distillery Glen Moray provided the first of a few peated drams with their easy & accessible Peated Single Malt.
Springbank showcased their single malt range – but what took my eye was Campbeltown Loch Blended Malt.
Andy Stewart no longer needs to wish Campbeltown Loch was whisky – it is now!
Made up of Springbank, Hazelburn, Longrow, Kilkerran & Glen Scotia malts it proved to be a lovely well balanced soft peater.
I couldn’t come to the Fife Whisky Festival without sampling some of the local produce.
Lindores Abbey’s core release is a very pleasant – if somewhat understated – well balanced single malt. Still think Irish Whiskey needs an MCDV release myself.
Kingsbarns Distillery Reserve at 61.8% provided a bigger hit for my palate both in terms of flavour – and spirity punch!
There were a few non-Scotch entrants at the show.
Mackmyra impressed me with their AI:02 Intelligens. The algorithms must be in tune with my tastebuds as I preferred this one over the Stjarnrok single malt from their seasonal release range.
New Zealand’s Cardrona were back with their Growing Wings 5yo single malt. It offered a fuller flavour than the younger Newly Hatched I enjoyed back in 2020. Both packed a high ABV punch at 65.6%!
Spotting Black Tot Rum on the Elixir stall I couldn’t resist.
A delightful blend of Jamaican, Guyanaian & Barbadian rums modelled on the Royal Navy rum tot proved to be a highly entertaining tipple!
My last few samples were from a selection of independent bottlers who mainly do non chill filtered, natural colour & often single cask, cask strength bottles in limited – not to be repeated – releases from a variety of distilleries.
At Carn Mor I enjoyed a 7yo peated bottling distilled at Highland Park named Whitlaw.
For Scotch Malt Whisky Society -SMWS – I shunned their limited edition single malts & opted for the attractively designed label of Peat Faerie blended malt for yet another sweet peater with a kick.
The Single Cask Staoisha 6yo distilled at Bunnahabhain offered a combination of soft peat & sweet wine cask influence.
Sadly they had no peated bottles on show – so I chose by artwork. Chapter 11 happened to be a Glen Spey & whilst very nice – didn’t wow as much as the art did!
And with that – it was all over!
A generous feed of chips ‘n’ cheese, a packed train of fellow whisky fans back to Kirkcaldy & a short walk to the hotel ended yet another wonderful foray exploring the fine whisky on show at the highly enjoyable Fife Whisky Festival 2022.
My 1st encounter with Bart’s Whiskey – a core release blend for Lough Ree Distillery in advance of their own distillate – was in the comfort & warmth of Skelly’s Bar Ballymahon.
Sitting by an open turf fire I found Bart’s to be clean & fresh with a lively citrusy nose.
A smooth silky mouthfeel with touches of oiliness warmed to me.
Delightful soft kisses of smoky turf on the finish left an engaging dry spiciness melting away.
A highly entertaining & complex whiskey!
The following week found me in possession of a bottle with the chance to explore further.
Meeting Bart’s in Skelly’s had already won me over – but the additional information only confirmed this.
Complete with QR code for all the geeks out there – a lovely passage honoured the memory of Lough Ree Distillery’s founders father Bart.
A component breakdown of the blend explained my brief tasting notes.
‘Clean & fresh’ equates to non chill filtered & natural colour.
The high – & probably youthful – grain percentage explains ‘lively’.
The pot still ‘oiliness’ is evident.
But the crowning glory – for my palate anyway – is undoubtedly the rye cask & peated malt giving those ‘smoky kisses’ & ‘dry spice’ on the gorgeous finish.
Some demand such information on the bottle.
For me it’s an optional extra & an additional selling point.
Even if all the label stated was ‘Bart’s Irish Whiskey’ – my palate told me this is a damn fine whiskey!
WestmeathWhiskeyWorld 